When mind, breath and body come together

More and more schools are offering classes to students to manage stress and anxiety, corporations are integrating it into their on-site wellness programs for employees, the Namibian Police is being exposed to meditation training and the Indian High Commission offers three free traditional Hatha classes as day!Yoga is quickly growing in Namibia and becoming more accessible to people from all walks of life. Yoga is when your mind, breath and body unite to create a feeling of ease, explains yoga instructor Seodhna Keown.“In in ancient Sanskrit it means to ‘pull together’ or ‘to unite’. It involves movement, regulating the breath and focusing your mind.”Yoga is often portrayed as a workout for flexible and fit people. The truth is that it is designed for everyone, regardless of age, body type, disability, cultural background or religious affiliation.“The simple fact is that when you take good care of yourself, you are better able to take care of others,” Seodhna saysEmpowerOne example of how yoga can be used to support and empower communities is the Oshana Yoga Club. It was established by Gergentia Brandi Schoombe after she completed her training with the Africa Yoga Project in Kenya in 2011. The club offers yoga to children in previously disadvantaged communities to help teach them emotional self-reliance, discipline and create inquisitive minds. Within a short space of time the club had over 50 children partaking regularly. The difference that yoga has made is very visible when one sees the smiles on the faces of these children.In the USA, India and even neighbouring South Africa, yoga is used to help rehabilitate violent prisoners in preparation for the day they return home. The violence for which many of these prisoners were locked up in the first place, can be related back to an inability to control themselves emotionally.CommunityYoga can also be used at community level to promote health and overall wellness. “Social segregation is still prevalent in Namibia, in part due to our lack of free, inviting safe and shared spaces. Positive experiences of social integration are an effective way to change people’s minds about the world they inhabit,” says yoga instructor Liezl Hoving.Addressing this issue is the grassroots collective, Rise Namibia! that is planning a series of free public yoga and movement sessions from October to December 2016. “Tackling unhealthy modern living and social segregation due to economic and cultural factors, we aim to revitalise our public spaces in Windhoek by inviting people to participate in fun, healthy activities outdoors that promotes community interaction.”In the Namibian context, it makes sense to use yoga as a tool of transformation, Liezl says. “Individuals can be empowered to take action and create solutions for complex social problems on a broader scale in their communities and beyond.”In the workplaceLong hours, multitasking, stiff competition, irregular eating habits, sedentary desk jobs and bad postures can all combine to create a highly stressed and inefficient employee base.“Yoga, with its mind-body focus, can support companies to bring balance and wellness into the workplace. With a quick transformation of a lunch room or boardroom, weekly on-site yoga classes for employees can boost morale and feelings of health and vitality in no time.“Offering yoga to employees is a low-cost, preventive and holistic healthcare measure, making the discipline a resonating success with human resource teams looking for strategic returns on their wellness investments,” she says.Kids and teens: Yoga teaches children to be comfortable in their bodies, to enjoy movement, how to deal with big emotions and regulate their own experiences. Classes are structured around stories, imagery from nature, music and self-expression. “The main focus is that children enjoy themselves in a safe space. Nowadays, young children and teens are not immune to the stresses of modern living and the demands on them to perform.”Yoga for mental health: Yoga ticks all the boxes of a mindfulness practice to help individuals manage their stress and feel empowered with scientifically proven tools that support stability and balance in life. Yoga for the athlete: The Indian and South African cricket teams as well as New Zealand''s national rugby team, the All Blacks, all practice yoga as part of their vigorous training regimen. Professional athletes say it extends and enhances their physically demanding careers, improving their focus and concentration while supporting them in preventing and rehabilitating a whole host of sports injuries.Prenatal yoga: Prenatal yoga classes, with a qualified prenatal instructor, pays careful attention to the woman’s changing body and includes carefully chosen poses, meditation, relaxation and breathing techniques. It helps women to breathe, flow and stretch with their growing baby.Mind: Yoga works at awakening and firing up the human mind, body and spirit simultaneously. It can assist therapists and treatments centres in the holistic treatment of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Body: It helps you calm the nervous system, enhance brain function, promote lymphatic system drainage, reduces anxiety, boosts immunity and mood, decreases blood pressure and helps you sleep more deeply. (Yoga for Dummies)According to Seodhna, yoga dates back almost 5 000 years to the Indian sub-continent. Today, there are many different traditions within in the yoga community, all of which have their roots in the Sutras.The eight branches of yogaTraditionally, yoga is comprised of eight different components that make up a complete practice that covers the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of a person. “When we create harmony at an individual level through self-practice, we share a greater sense of balance with our families, our communities and the environment.”The branches provide a road map to guide the yoga practitioner to take the physical practice and turn it into a way of life. The first branch is the Yamas that is described as “a moral code” and includes non-violence toward other living beings and being truthful. The next branch is Niyamas, describing the code for how a person should take care of themselves. The third and fourth branches are concerned with the physical body and our connection to our breath. Asanas are the physical postures commonly associated with yoga, while Pranayama is focused breathing used when practicing Asanas. Combined, these two have a calming and healing effect.To go deeper into a yoga practice and benefit mentally and emotionally, the fifth branch, Pratyahara, is practiced. This is the practice of pulling one’s awareness inwards and focusing on your own experience.The final branches of yoga are the meditative aspects of yoga (Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi); learning to control one’s wild “monkey mind”.Seodhna says that every yogi’s journey is different. “We learn things at different times in our life and in different capacities. The most important thing to remember as you begin your yoga path is practice, practice, practice.”Even though the yoga community in Namibia is young and small in numbers, it offers a wide variety of yoga styles with growing interest in Oshakati, Okahandja and even Sossusvlei. What to chooseHatha: Hatha classes move you through a series of postures that are held for longer stretches of time.Ashtanga: Also known as “Mysore”, is a series of set sequences.Sivananda: A form of Hatha, this yoga focuses on a combination of twelve basic postures with additional variations, interspersed with periods of relaxation.Bikram: A form of Hatha yoga that takes place in a heated room of 40 °C. The set sequence is very invigorating and physically challenging.Iyengar: A form of Hatha yoga that focuses on alignment to create strength and spaciousness in the body. This yoga allows the student to build a solid foundation for a more advanced physical practiceKundalini: There are thousands of set sequences in Kundalini Yoga called “Kriyas” that focus on strengthening the nervous system. Yin yoga: A slow practice that targets the connective tissues, such as the fascia, ligaments, bones, and even the joints. Power yoga: A general term used to describe a vigorous, fitness-based approach to a vinyasa type of yoga. Vinyasa: Breath-synchronized movement and Vinyasa yoga is a series of poses (Asanas) that will move you through the power of inhaling and exhaling.Forrest yoga: Renowned as an intensely physical and internally focused practice that emphasises how to carry a transformative experience off the mat and into daily life.Yoga Nidra: A practice that is more focussed on the mental and emotional aspect of a person. (www.yoga.com.na; liezlhoving@gmail.com; seodhnakeown@gmail.com)

When mind, breath and body come together

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Republikein 2025-04-07

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When mind, breath and body come together

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